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Thursday, April 28, 2016

I had often wondered why a handful
of Bourbons were offered at 107 proof. Was
this supposed to be a sweet spot? Knowing barrel-entry proof used to be lower, I
wondered if it was a throwback to earlier days. I read what supposedly had been Pappy Van
Winkle’s explanation, as recounted by Sally Van Winkle Campbell, but I wondered
about reliability. I also wondered why seven
years seemed to be a common age statement on 107 proof options. But in reality, I was just guessing about
everything.

Then Josh Feldman wrote about his
epic tasting of 1998-2008 Old Weller Antiques, and followed up after talking
with John Lipman about the origin of 107 proof – it was essentially “barrel
proof” back in the 1940’s because distillers barreled at 100 proof, and
couldn’t barrel higher than 110 proof. While
the mystery might be solved, I decided to compare three 107 proof Bourbons in
three price ranges – under $20, under $30 and under $40, arranged here by price:

Distillery: Unknown, but bottled by “Pure Kentucky
Distilling Company,” which is an assumed name of Kentucky Bourbon Distillers,
Ltd. (Willett), Bardstown, Kentucky

Age: NAS

Proof: 107

Cost: $28.99

Baker’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Distillery: Jim Beam, Clermont, Kentucky

Age: 7 Years

Proof: 107

Cost: $38.99

I tasted
these blind (but I knew the three up for review) in random order, each poured
neat in a Glencairn. My rankings below
are from the blind tasting, but I re-tasted each Bourbon many times after the
reveal to check my initial opinions and to elaborate on the aromas and flavors.

1st Glass (Old Weller
Antique):

I’m plenty familiar with the Weller
line, so I could identify this one blind, especially knowing that it was
somewhere in the lineup. The color is a
rich amber, with a slight hint of orange, depending on how the light hits, and
a little more brown in other light. The
aroma is medium intensity, with plenty of caramel, apple pie, and cinnamon
rolls, with slight oak. The dominant
flavors are caramel and vanilla, but also with pastry sweetness, spiced apples,
honey, and toffee, without any hint of bitterness. It has a fantastic creamy sensation. The finish was warm and satisfying, with more
flavors of caramel (rich dessert caramel), cinnamon, and vanilla, and with
decent oak balance. It wasn’t a home run
finish, which really would have taken this one to the next level, but was still
a stand up double on the finish.

2nd Glass (Baker’s):

The appearance of the second glass
stood out from the other two as much darker – pushing mahogany – and oily in
the glass. The aroma was the most intense
of all three, and it hit from a distance.
It was hot, with black pepper, oak, old barn, citrus zest, and wet-dirt-in-the-springtime
earthiness. The taste seemed a little
too hot at first, and I thought that I detected the telltale Beam yeastiness
(but, admittedly, I was looking for it).
The primary flavors were oak, peanuts, black pepper, cedar, and a slight
over-cooked vegetable flavor. It
finishes medium with nice warmth, but the flavors in the finish were uneventful. This Bourbon clearly had a solid foundation, but
something didn’t quite click; it didn’t commit to going all-out robust rock
star, nor did it commit to balanced complexity, and instead got stuck in the
middle.

3rd Glass (Pure
Kentucky XO):

The appearance of the third
contender was a subdued brown. The
aromas were subdued, too, with every note being subtle, making it overall light
and elegant, but nothing remarkable, either.
Corn sweetness, malt vinegar, and black pepper emerged as primary
aromas. Upon tasting it, though, I found
a rush of complexity. After initial
flavors of corn pudding, it transitioned to slight caramel, coconut, oak,
leather, char, and black pepper, all while maintaining an overall distinctly
malt flavor. The dry flavors continued
through the finish, which was medium in length, with a nice swell. This was a Bourbon that makes you want to
ponder it for a while.

WINNER: Each of these had its distinct pros and
cons, each was very different from the other, and each seemed to be missing one
component that could have improved it, but overall, the first glass – Old
Weller Antique – rose to the top as the 107 proof Bourbon with the best aromas,
taste, and finish. It happens to carry the
lowest retail price, too. Unfortunately,
it has fallen prey to allocations and hoarding, so it may not be available at
your favorite retail store. If it’s not
on the shelves of your favorite store (or if you don’t go for the sweet
profile), I highly recommend the Pure
Kentucky XO.

Bottom Line:

The first-place finish of Old
Weller Antique surprised me. I had scored
it high in a previous review (comparing next-to-bottom-shelf wheated bourbons),
but the competition was stiffer here, so I expected it to show flaws in
comparison. Instead of revealing flaws
in Old Weller Antique, the opposite happened; it helped me identify what was
missing in the other two Bourbons.

With so much of the tasting
experience dependent upon aromas, the faint nose of Pure Kentucky XO put it at
a disadvantage from the start. I have
not compared my batch (No. 13-85) to previous or current batches to see whether
the profile has remained consistent, but even with a sub-par nose, I really
enjoyed this complex, malty, earthy profile, which really makes Pure Kentucky
XO a contemplative Bourbon. It was a
very close second in my comparison, and it could easily become your new favorite
sub-$30 brand. Out of the three bottles,
it is the one that I finished first.

Baker’s was a distant third. I hadn’t had Baker’s in several years, and
didn’t remember much about it, which is consistent with my impression that it’s
often an overlooked brand. In fact, the onlyreason I bought it was that I needed it
for this 107-proof challenge. I
initially thought that Baker’s might have suffered because I tasted it on the
heels of the sweet Old Weller Antique, but on re-tasting all three, I tried
Baker’s first, and later I tried each one independently on different days, none
of which changed my impression. The
back label suggests drinking it “over ice or with a splash of water,” so I
tried that too, but to me, water seemed to accentuate bitterness. I don’t see myself buying Baker’s again,
especially with so many great alternatives for $40 or less, but I’m not going
to turn it down.

Score on The
Sipp’n Corn Scale:

Old Weller Antique: 3.5

Pure Kentucky XO: 3.5

Baker’s:
2.5

The Sipp’n Corn Scale:

1 – Swill. I might dump the bottle, but will probably
save it for my guests who mix with Coke.

2 – Hits the
minimum criteria, but given a choice, I’d rather have something else.

3 – Solid Bourbon
with only minor shortcomings. Glad to
own and enjoy.

4 – Excellent
Bourbon. Need to be hyper-critical to
find flaws. I’m lucky to have this.

5 – Bourbon
perfection. I’ll search high and low to
get another bottle of this.